2. Normative language and conventions

2.1 Requirement force

The uppercase terms MUST, MUST NOT, SHOULD, SHOULD NOT, and MAY carry normative force only inside a paragraph bearing a requirement identifier. “Must” indicates an absolute condition; “should” indicates a condition for which a documented, interoperability-safe exception can exist; “may” grants an option. Lowercase forms and “shall” have no normative force in this specification.

2.2 Numeric conventions

u8, u16, u32, u64, and u128 denote unsigned integers of the stated width. i64 denotes a two’s-complement signed 64-bit integer. LE(x,n) and BE(x,n) denote the n-byte little- and big-endian encodings of integer x. Byte intervals use half-open notation [start,end). Unless a requirement states otherwise, mathematical pseudocode uses unbounded integers; conversion to a fixed-width type is permitted only after its stated range check.

Arithmetic that contributes to validity, state, scheduling, or a commitment uses the checked, saturating, wrapping, or truncating behavior named by the applicable algorithm; host-language default overflow behavior never determines a protocol result.

Byte strings concatenate with ||. len(x) is a nonnegative mathematical integer. Array indices are zero-based. A public-key comparison is lexicographic comparison of its 32 raw bytes unless stated otherwise.

2.3 Ordering and ties

When a threshold is written as a/b > p, equality does not pass. When written a/b >= p, equality passes. Implementations use the exact integer cross-multiplication form where one is specified; a floating-point expression quoted as implementation evidence is not itself permission to substitute a numerically different comparison.

2.4 Diagrams, examples, and evidence

Tables and pseudocode labeled Normative are authoritative. Diagrams, rationale, examples, source anchors, and implementation notes are informative unless an identified requirement incorporates a value or relation they contain. The sources in Appendix D and the SIMDs in Appendix C do not silently extend the numbered requirements.